IN BRIEF / DEFENSE

Senate Refuses to Cut Northrop Loan in Bill

The Senate refused to eliminate language in an emergency spending bill that would loan Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp. as much as $500 million to pay for Hurricane Katrina damage that the company's insurer is contesting.

The Senate voted 52 to 47 to reject an amendment by Republican Tom Coburn of Oklahoma to remove the provision, which was inserted by Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran on behalf of a Northrop shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., his home state.